Feet in Sand
by Usagi Squared
Summary: A small ring holds more than Joey expects, when it turns him into a 3'4' tall dog! Summoned into the world of the Arabian Nights, will he be able to turn back after restoring Shahra's power? Or will the Erazor Djinn take his world as well?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: 1001 Arabian Nights**

It had been three weeks since that fateful day in Egypt- Three weeks since the spirit of Yugi's millennium puzzle, the pharaoh Atem, had finally passed on into the afterlife. Things had calmed down a lot since then, Jonouchi Katsuya, AKA Joey thought as he and his friends walked back to the 'Kame Game' shop from school. He kinda missed the guy... Hell, he missed him a lot, but he sure wasn't going to say so... But if anyone had been hit the most, it had definitely been Yugi.

Since that day, Yugi had continued to play not just duel monsters, but he had also gotten into the habit of reading up on other games with ancient origin. The boy had a keen eye for places likely to have them now, and Joey could only pray that they didn't spot one-

"Ah! Joey, look over here!" Shit. Mentally sighing, Joey leaned over to peer into the window of a musty old store that had caught Yugi's attention. "Looks like there's some pretty interesting stuff in there!"

Joey snorted, rubbing his head. "'Interesting'? Looks pretty dusty and ruined to me..." Nonetheless, he ended up walking inside with his friend, wandering around as Yugi tore off for whatever it was he had seen through the window. The store seemed to mainly hold books really- Books in English, German, Spanish.. Just about every language in existence that had a written version really. There was one in particular that seemed to stand out however... On a pedestal, bound with two cords and a ring, was a book titled '1001 Arabian Nights'. Certainly looked thick enough to hold '1001', he thought to himself. He reached out to touch the ring.... A voice from behind shook him out of his trance however, shocking Joey senseless. "AAHG!"

"Oh dear... Forgive me youngin', but I just noticed you looking at my prized possession there..." Looking down, Joey sighed in relief. Just an old man, his eyes so squinted and wrinkled you could barely see them, the rest of his body pale and small as a bony hand gripped a cane. The old man hobbled past Joey, picking up the book with delicate hands and blowing of a thick layer of dust. "Kuh-kuh-khach! ...Ah.... Now then youngster..." He used the same frail fingers to wipe the rest of the grime of the cover, before looking back up at Joey. "It's been a long time, since someone came in here... Let alone take interest in this here tome... Would you happen to be interested in buying it?"

He instantly frowned. Great... He was about to be suckered into a sale.. "No thanks old man... Too busy paying my pop's bills right now..." Damn drunk old man... He couldn't wait until he was able to move out... Until he was able to however, he was kinda stuck.

The old man simply grinned, in a fashion that was oddly disturbing. "Oh, I'm sure it can't be that bad... I'll even give you a discount! Only 1000 yen..."

"A... Only that much!?" That got his attention. Old man trying to sell an old book for so little... This would be suspicious if he wasn't so interested in the book for some reason that was beyond him. "Ehhh... what the hell!" Forking over the thousand yen, he grabbed the book, turning around to find Yugi. "Hey Yug! You won't believe what I just bought this thing for!"

The boy turned to him from a pack of aged looking dice, odd runes carved into them, and looked over at his friend with a curious smile."Hn? What'd you get?" However... Yugi was currently behind Joey so...

"Grah!!!" Joey jumped out of his skin, turning back to see Yugi before frowning. "Eh.... Yugi, did you happen to see an old creepy guy around here?"

Yugi also frowned, before shaking his head. "No... I didn't. Nice looking book there by the way, what's it called?" The boy was answered with silence, his friend simply staring at the cover. "Uh... Joey?"

"Eh?" Joey looked back to Yugi, before smirking. "Oh, right... '1001 Arabian Nights'. It looked interesting..." Tristan might have argued when the others were around, but he did read! Just not often... In any case, at least he had something to do if duel monsters with his friends was unavailable- Myths were more fun than math. They left it at that, Yugi recognizing the fact that Joey needed to think at the moment, before taking their separate ways to their homes. For some reason, Joey wasn't in the mood for games right now... For some reason, he wanted to see what sorts of things were in the book, and he was being pulled to his house like a magnet because of it...

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When he'd gotten home, his dad was gone thankfully. Probably out drinking, or wasting his money gambling but... At least he wasn't here, throwing bottles at him. Sitting on his bed, he simply stared at the book for a while before finally looking around the back cover for the knot in the ropes. It was a simple not really- Just poking it unraveled the thing. Plucking the ring off and putting it to the side, he opened the cover, its binding crunching in a sort of implied agreement to read it.

'_All right... Now lets see what kind of book this... Is?' _"Ahhhhhh for fuck's sake..." It was completely blank. Almost anyways. Aside from a few spare paragraphs in Arabic throughout the book, there wasn't even an inkblot. Well what was the point in that if he couldn't even try and figure it out from nonexistent pictures at least...

There was always the ring though. Picking it up and examining it, he lay back on his bed and held it up. Could be worth a lot... Either that, or maybe he could give it to- Joey blushed, hiding the ring in his fist before jerking up. Or.. Or he could just sell it. Yea, that worked. Besides, it could probably fit him now that he thought about it. As if to check for himself, Joey slipped it on his own finger and waved it around, seeing if it would fly off, before suddenly grabbing his hand in pain. "Yeowch!" Wrenching the ring off and ignoring the 'ping' sound made as it bounced across the floor, he glared at the innocent looking slit the ring had managed to put into his finger. "Sheesh, it's even bleeding... Stupid ring.."

"Gnnng!" Suddenly, his bleeding finger wasn't on his mind anymore. A searing pain surged through his body, the teen curling over and clutching his stomach. This pain.. This pain was indescribable. Little did he know, a transformation was occurring as the pain forced him to soon fall off his bed and into a spasming form on the floor. Had his eyes been open, the world would have swirled as his thrashing body seemed to actually steam, his clothes becoming to large, his body shrinking down to little more than a metre in height.

Perhaps he could have lived with being shorter than Yugi after a while- But what happened next was likely what part of the immense pain was, as the feeling intensified and collectively focused on the rest of his body. Wet, warm fluid that smelled of blood came from his rear, as well as a feeling similar to fur, or maybe just cloth.... Before he could think about that however, he felt his hands and feet, the latter already to small for his shoes, swell to immense size. His hands became to large to comfortably hold around his body... The slippers burst at the seams, Joey stifling a scream as he bit his lip. The pain faltered... Joey opened his eyes, breathing heavily. Was whatever happened... Over? He looked around from his position, frowning. Things seemed to be twice their size almost, what the- "Grahng!"

Joey's body went stiff with pain- As though wracked with electricity, he twitched slightly through the intensity, eyes shutting on their own accord. So... So that was what it was, he thought as what felt like an oversized blanket came from over and under him, that had been the calm before the storm... He couldn't take it anymore. Letting out a harsh cry of pain, he gripped his head, thoughts whirling as he felt that as well grow larger... Heavier... His ears seemingly disappeared, and the feeling of hair surrounded him. His eyes shot open, a strained feeling coming to them as he felt them growing themselves, 'crashing' into the other and fusing he thought, but why.. why... how...

-_CRACK!_- "Mnnng!" The sound of the bridge of his nose cracking was also accompanied by blinding pain, Joey feeling his teeth sharpening and lengthening in his mouth while his sense of smell and hearing drastically improved. A sense that only made him feel worse as the scent of his own blood and the sound of his labored breathing entered his head.

And then things really were finished. The pain dispersed, and with a final act of submission he collapsed into blissful unconsciousness....

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"_Hey...." _He could feel light stream down on his face, but it was not the feeling of sunlight. _"Hey, wake up...."_ He could feel the wetness of what he hoped to god wasn't blood beneath most of his body... "HEY!"

Joey's eyes jerked open, jerking slightly as a woman's voice yelled into his ear. "Nggg...." He felt dizzy... Like his head had been swirled around in a blender set on 'puree'- After already being smashed over with a hammer. Holding his head however, he frowned. Something long and.. Almost felt-like in feeling was on both sides of his head, all but hidden in his hair. "What the-"

"So... You are he- You are the 'one whose heart resonates with the worlds', as spoken in the prophecies!" Joey's eyes flicked over to the source of the voice, the teen drawing back as soon as they found it.

"Gnngah!" Shuffling back against the bed and clutching his crown again, he shook slightly as he stared at the woman. She was.. Floating. She was glowing, she had pink hair up in a large and unnatural curl, and _she was floating_... Not to mention the creepy, giant, glowing ring she was holding. "Wh-What are you!?"

The woman's calm smile twitched, threatening to turn into a frown but holding the air of 'happy' nonetheless. "Truly a rude person has been chosen... I am Shahra, genie of the ring... Perhaps you have heard of the 'Genie of the Lamp'? It is similar to that..."

The moment Shahra said 'Genie', the woman had Joey's attention. "A genie? Like 'grant you three wishes' genie?" Now that he had calmed down a bit, the teen frowned slightly. His voice sounded a bit... Higher than normal. Grabbing at his throat however, he found his hands too large to simply grab the front- In fact, they were fu... fur... fur.. "GYAAAAH!?!"

Shahra watched with surprise as the mobian in front of her lept up, examining his arms and legs, before eventually coming to the _real_ clincher- He had. A tail.

"Hwaaaah!! What did you do to me!?!"

This time, she was unable to mask her emotions- A look of shock and disgruntlement came over the genie as she moved back slightly herself, before regaining her composure. "M-Me? I did nothing! I can't do anything! I am the one who has come to you for help!"

Joey simply glared however, before snatching at the giant ring Shahra had. "Oh yea? Then why did you appear suddenly? I bet the whole thing at the store was something you cooked up even!" Before he could continue the rant, the 'dog' (He seemed to have those features after all) watched with confusion as the ring he held shrank down to the size of one of his sausage sized fingers. A ring... "This proves it even more! If you ain't the one who did this to me, then tell me what clears you!"

Had Joey been paying attention, he would have noticed the slight glow of the ring he held. He did not however, and within seconds Shahra began to speak. "...This book that you have carelessly thrown aside.. It houses my world, which I was sealed within until the light of your moon hit its pages... You saw it yourself, did you not? The words of the Arabian Nights are disappearing, fading away into naught even ashes... This happened once before, many years ago...."

"How does this prove you didn't do this? Change me back!!" Joey cut Shahra off rather rudely, the genie frowning.

"I cannot change you back! I do not have enough power! Please, let me explain this to you! If I had my power-"

That caught Joey's attention. "So... You _would_ change me back then would you?"

"In an instant, but I cannot! My power is linked to the state of my world... The Erazor Djinn, who once before attempted this was halted in his progress the first time he tried this... However, the hero who did this cannot aid us now. As the Erazor Djinn erases the words of the book, he gains more power.. And once he completely ruins the pages, he will be freed into the world of reality... When our world was first saved, our pages were lost to time, sent spiraling into nothingness in search of the other mobian who would find us... That, would be you. If you can help to destroy the Erazor Djinn, I will be able to regain my power once more- If this occurs, I should be able to restore you to your previous form.. Whatever it was."

"Human! I was human!! I was human and lovin' it until a few moments ago, so there's no way I can be your guy!" He scowled, before actually considering everything else. This was... Pretty difficult to believe. Joey sat down by his bed with a frown, contemplating what he'd heard. Difficult to believe but.. He DID just turn into some kind of dog thing... "'Sides, I just grabbed that book earlier today... And I'm not the type who gets picked for these kinds of things. It was just an accident alright!"

Shahra shook her head, her eyes now brimming with tears. "No! This was no accident! This is fate! Fate is what brought you this book, this world, and it is fate that you save it! I am begging you, for the fate of my entire world... Please help us! Help us, and I promise, I will do anything I can to restore you to your human form!"

"Hmggg..." Damn it... He should stay out of this, he really should but.. Didn't she say something about the 'evil genie' coming into reality if he wasn't stopped though?... "So... all I have to do is pummel this 'Eraser Gin' guy, and everything will be fine right?..." Wait, if this place was in a book- "Hey wait a sec'... How'm I supposed to help save this place if it's inside that book?"

"That's easy!" Shahra's upset mood disappeared as she giggled, shifting into a mist before reappearing beside Joey. "As the genie of the ring, I can grant as many wishes as needed, so long as it is within my power- To take you into the book is within those limits!"

"Uh... Alright..." Joey flushed, leaning away from the genie slightly- Shahra was a tad too close for comfort there... Watching the genie disappear yet again, he frowned. "Hey, that doesn't help much!" A small buzzing feeling in his hand jolted him, the dog looking down at the ring he held. "Eh!?"

The buzzing noise continued, before a voice came from it. "_Please! Place the ring on your finger!_"

"Heh?" He stared at the ring for a few seconds, before obliging. "Alright... That's done, now- AUG!!" He grabbed his ring finger, preparing to wrench the ring off of it yet again before a voice cut him off.

"_Ah! Please, don't! That was the contract between us being sealed! You are now officially the master of the ring, and as such, it is my duty to protect you!_" Joey cocked his head, a deadpan clearly on his face. Protect... Him? Wasn't he supposed to save her world for her? This whole talking piece of jewelry thing was a bit too familiar... "_Please Master, rub the ring._"

Joey did so, a look of confusion on his face again. "Ah... Alright, no-" Appearing from the ring came a mist, and with it Shahra, bowing her head.

"Oh Master of the ring... What is thy wish?"

He blinked. "Uh...." Well.. Um. That was new, being called 'master'. Actually, it would be kinda cool if not for the circumstance. But at the moment... He closed his eyes, thinking. Now that he thought about it, he still had no idea if this was a trick or not... What could he do to make her prove it wasn't... Opening his eyes, he found himself staring at his clearly oversized jeans, eyes soon trailing over to the shredded remains of his slippers. "Alright then... How about some clothes that fit?"

-_POOF!-_ An exact replica of the outfit he wore in his human form appeared over him, complete with a few things that _hadn't_ been his- In addition to his favorite t-shirt and jeans, there appeared a pair of pure white cloth gloves on his hands, and large blue and grey shoes that fit his enormous feet perfectly. "Alright! Now that's what I'm talking about!!" Tugging on the shirt, he grinned, momentarily forgetting about how he had gotten them completely.

"Please, be serious!" Shahra frowned, floating over to the book and pointing at it. "We have no time to fool around like this!" She was about to continue, before both turned to the sound of footsteps outside in the hall.

"Joey?" Shit... Yugi. "Joey, you forgot your bag at the store, I managed to get it..." Shitshitshitshitshit...

Joey hurriedly turned to Shahra, whispering frantically as he rubbed the ring. "Shahra! I wish I was in the book! Just don't let him see me like this please!!"

Shahra nodded, a look of worry on her face as she clapped her hands. The book before them opened wide, and a whirlwind of sand and paper swirled around them, obscuring them from view. The sand twisted and turned, siphoning into the book before it slammed shut... The only evidence of the wind being the few fluttering pages left behind, flying out the open window.

"Jo-.... W-what..." This was the sight that Yugi came across as he opened the door, the whirlwind having just dissipated. The room was in shambles for one- After the wind, the dressers had become messed, the blanket on the bed tangled into a heap in the corner of the room. Torn scraps of clothing littered a bloodstained ground, the still wet puddle catching Yugi's horrified eye first. "J-Joey... A...Ah..."

"_AHHHHHHHH!!!!!_" In the world of books, as pages swirled around Jonouchi Katsuya, he shut his eyes and bit his lip.

_'Sorry, Yugi... But I can't see you like thi-'_ Suddenly however, Joey paled considerably. Wait... Wasn't there still a puddle of blood on the floor? "A-Ahh! Shahra! I wish Yugi didn't see my room!! Can you make the blood disappear too?!"

Shahra shook her head sadly. "Sorry, Master... But my powers can only stretch so far- Now that we are in the book, the realm of it is my limit... I can no more affect what is outside, than return you there before regaining my power..."

Falling through the stream of sand and pages of Arabian text, Joey looked back with horror. That meant... "...Yug..." He'd seen a lot of things before... He may have not been that bright, especially not compared to the others but, if there was one thing he knew about what Yugi probably saw, it was this. A ransacked and blood covered room didn't say 'I've been blackmailed into another gang', or 'I've been kidnapped by a mind-controlling freak'. It said 'I've been killed, and disposed of.' "Damn it..."

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AN: Don't kill me!!! -dodges flames- This spawned from a very random but very cool looking doodle my friend (Sonic fan) and I (Who had gotten back into the Yu-Gi-Oh manga) cooked up together. It grew from there... Yea... UM anyways, before I get comments on Joey swearing too much... If you look at the manga, and really look, he was really a bit of a jackass to start. Not to mention, he really is _that_ rude! I mean... It makes sense when you think about it, look at what he's stuck growing up in! -points to drunk and abusive father- Not good. D: ....Aside from that, let me know if he's too much or too little of an idiot here.

And for spelling mistakes.

_damn spelling mistakes...._ THEY'RE KILLING MEEEEEEEEE.....


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: Justice and Death**

They'd been falling for a while before finally landing on the ground. If one could call it that. A long, narrow trail of paper floating in the sky, riddled with a few holes and surrounded by still more swirling pages of text. Looked like a weird funneling portal... Which it probably was now that he thought about it. They walked along that endless road for hours really, eventually stopping to simply sit on the side of the 'road'. The glowing light surrounding them seemed to dim... Eventually, the pair fell asleep to the side, waking up in the morning to continue on in an uncharacteristic silence.

By noon however, things had begun to ease up- The bright glow of the pages had an oddly cheery effect it seemed... Pretty soon, Joey was looking around and ready to act his usual self again. Staring at the enormous gates as they passed beneath them, the pages swirling around the road in a solid motion...

"So... This is where you live then huh?" Joey crossed his arms behind his head, "Pretty cool lookin', not too sure about the sleeping arrangements though, hehe!"

While the atmosphere had a glee-inducing effect on Joey, it appeared to have the reverse effect on Shahra. She could swear that the journey should only have taken an hour or so- But Joey was simply walking. Not once did he sprint, or even jog... She turned to him, frowning. "Please Master! Be serious about this! It has taken hours to travel what should have only been mere minutes to you!!"

Joey looked over at Shahra, scratching his ear. "Neh... D'you think you can stop with the whole 'master' thing? Name's Jonouchi, Katsuya... An' if that's to difficult for yah, than just call my Joey!" Staring forwards, he continued walking at his painfully slow pace. "'Sides, I can't even see the end of this path- No way I can possibly run the entire thing if that's what you're expecting!" He frowned however, when he saw just what _was_ at the end of the path. "Aww man.. How am I supposed to jump that..."

"You _could_ simply run at the gap and leap it... As a human it is true, doing so would exhaust you, but as a mobian it is an amazingly simple task!"

It would appear that Joey had something else in mind however... "Whaaat!? And fall into the bottomless swirl below it? No way lady! Ain't doing it! I'd much rather wish," Shahra reluctantly sighed, waving her hand as a glowing path appeared to bridge the gap, "For a bridge. Wow! That's some skills there! What'd you do, read my mind?" He walked calmly over to the bridge, grinning. "Sorry Shahra... But there's just no way I can run the enti- GHHHH!!!" As he brought his foot down on the bridge, he hopped backwards, paling considerably as the bridge faded out of existence. "Chaaaa!! What're you tryin' to do, kill me!?"

"Oh please. I would have caught you, Master Joey... My life is as much linked to yours after all. I merely thought that the illusion would perhaps inspire you to move at a slightly more tolerable pace..." She turned away, crossing her arms. "It would appear, however, that I was wrong."

Joey's once cheerful mood quickly vanished. "I'm telling yah lady! I would if I could, but I can't!"

"Clearly, you know nothing of the mobian race!" Shahra turned back, her hands glowing as an orb was created between them, the woman holding it before Joey as various images swirled through it. A blue hedgehog, a cocky smirk plastered on his face, ran swiftly across it, leaping and dashing in the violet mist. "Able to run at near sonic speeds, some even surpassing it... Mobians have long been known for their strength, longevity, stamina, and most importantly their swiftness. Believe me when I tell you this, oh Master of the Ring, that you can easily make this jump- Take a running start, humor me with this at least! I swear upon my life, that I will catch you whenever you fall!"

There was a bit of silence, as Joey continued to look at Shahra with skepticism, before finally caving. "Alright, alright... I'll try the running thing..." Walking past Shahra for a bit, he continued scowling. "But if I end up with a broken neck or something, I'm blamin' you!" Shahra in the meantime simply tensed as Joey's loud voice pierced her ears even from the distance he was at. Geeze, could he at least try and keep it down..?

Off in the distance, Joey watched as Shahra moved to the side. He took a deep breath, shutting his eyes. Here goes nothing... One foot. Two foot... Step, step, step step stepstepstep.... One after another as he brought his feet down, he felt himself picking up speed. Hair flew back with his flapping ears, his arms with them once he felt no need to move them. The gap was coming closer.. Closer...

So why was it that he suddenly wasn't afraid of falling and snapping his neck in half? Eh... He'd done riskier things back home he supposed... There was the edge, he thought as he sped even faster, feeling no exhaustion, no pain... He kicked off the ledge and leaped, finally halting the movement of his legs and looking down.

It reminded him of something that happened way back when he and the others had gone on a trip to India- While they were all stuck in the 'capsule monsters' game. Sailing over the skies on his red eyes, the wind simply brushing by...

Unfortunately, back then he had someone to land _for_ him. Scrambling around as he fell helplessly from the air, Joey squeezed his eyes shut tightly. Ahhhh... Not good not good!! His legs caught the ground however, and when he opened them again, he was still running. "Ahahaha..." Well... That was.. "Hahaha!! WHOOOO!" Pages blurred past, and still the speed was picking up. In an unconscious motion, he hopped onto a metal railing laying to the side, his shoes skidding across it and causing sparks to fly off to the side. There was a bit of an obstacle ahead though...

Joey smirked. Some sort of floating robot thing... Probably a peon of the 'Eraser' guy, nothing more than a simple thug! He sped up, hopping off the rail and aiming for the robot, jumping up and preparing to throw a punch.

-_wizzt!-_ "Guh!" He missed?! The robot skillfully dodged to the side, Joey sliding to a stop on the ground. "Unng... What the hell?" He never missed a hit, not like that anyways! He turned, clambering back to his feet. "Alright then... Let's try this again!" Charging towards the metal beast, he heard Shahra's voice from within the ring.

"_Joey! I will hold him in place a bit... Just enough that you can attack him. Aim for me!_" A glowing orb arose to surround the robot, hindering it slightly. _"It won't affect me at all, please try it Master Joey!"_

Aim for her? " Alright then..." Rushing forwards he tackled the robot as hard as he could, jumping backwards as it exploded into a puff of smoke. "Sheeesh! It's like watching duel monsters being defeated that!" The edge of the road was in sight, Joey looking ahead and skidding to a stop. "Well... That's the end of it I guess... So where to now then? Do you know where this Eraser guy is?"

There was no answer. Joey turned to look at Shahra, the genie staring off past the cliff with a blank and distant look on her face. "Hn?" She turned back with a start, blinking before speaking. "Ah.. It's nothing... As for where he is, I am not sure..." She turned away, frowning. She could have sworn she heard-

"I'm closer than you think, my dear Shahra..." The pair turned looked up swiftly as a deep purple spirit appeared, his hair styled similarly to Shahra's and his body surrounded by a cape. "Hmhmhmhmhm... And it would seem you brought along the destined sacrifice!"

That one threw Joey off. "Sacrifice!?"

Shahra moved in front of the dog protectively, a nervous look of determination set on her face. "I... You will not take this one, Erazor! No matter what!"

"Hnhnhnhn... HAHAHAHA!!! Really now? We'll see about that my dear... But first, tell me... Have you brought the seven World Rings as I asked? A sacrifice is pointless without them after all..."

The woman shook her head, still glaring at the man across from her. "The seven world rings do not exist! They were destroyed when Sonic left the book years before! And, even if they still did..." She backed up against Joey, the dog currently frowning. Something didn't seem right, and he was starting to get really nervous about these two... "I would never gather them for you!"

Erazor backed away, a scowl on his face. "Is that how it is then now? Well then, perhaps I should give you an incentive!" Raising two fingers and pulling them back in the motion an archer would when firing an arrow, a single flame appeared at his tips. "If you won't bring them to me when you're alive..." He fired, the flame shooting directly towards Shahra as the genie froze with terror and determination. "Then you can do so in death!"

"As if, yah sorry excuse for a spirit!" Refusing to take anymore of things, Joey lept around Shahra, and before the genie could even scream, he was hit in the chest by the arrow of flame. "Grnn!" Falling backwards, he propped himself up on one arm before glaring up at the Erazor. "You damn bastard!" Leaping forwards without a second thought, Joey heard the Djinn 'hmmp', before throwing him back as though he was nothing more than a stuffed toy.

"It will take much more than that to defeat me, little rat! Now listen and listen well... If you don't bring me those world rings within seven days, that flame will extinguish... And with it, your life! Now then... There are a few annoying kings to deal with..." Before Joey could retaliate, the Djinn vanished, leaving the dog to glare at nothingness.

Biting his lip, he turned to Shahra and scowled. "That purple little... That was him was it?" Shahra simply nodded, before floating to the edge of the road.

"Indeed it was... But this is more than unfortunate... Not only is time against us now, but the creator of our world and the author of the tales within it is being targeted... The Erazor made his move to soon for me it seems. Our road ends here, when it should have spiraled down to the sands below, we cannot go further..." At least before, when this had happened, she had had enough power to carry Sonic down... But now...

Wait what? "You're sayin' that after bein' hit with a time-bomb, I oughta give in!?" The genie looked away sadly, her eyes closed tight. "Man! Now I think I really am being set up!"

"Master, that isn't true! I would never-" No! No, she wasn't like that! Please...

The genie was met with a frown, Joey crossing his arms and turning away. "Whatever lady... I'm going, with or without you.. In fact, no matter what, don't you dare try and fly me back up here!" How that worked he didn't know- Maybe it had to do with the distance from here to the ground, that she couldn't simply fly them down. But either way, Shahra was forced to watch and remain completely still as Joey lept from the path, shooting down like a rocket.

"No!! Master Joey!!" That fool! Didn't he know? Even mobians had a limit when it came to heights, and this was one of them! "Joey!!"

From above Shahra, a shadow frowned, before disappearing downwards in a flash of black, red, and gold. He didn't know why he was here... But he'd be damned if he let one of his friends die.

Watching with confusion, Shahra was still only able to watch from above... But this time, it was alright. For flying downwards at top speed was the familiar avian form of a 'Ba', an Egyptian 'ghost' of sorts, the form that they would take once their body was completely 'disposed' of. The form of a human-sized bird... With the face they bore in real life.

Flying down towards Joey at top speed was one such, and as Joey turned his head to watch this, the dog gasped with shock.

No way... It couldn't be..

"A-Atem!?!" Snatched up by the razor sharp talons, Joey didn't receive an answer for a few seconds, instead finding himself looking at the cartouche that currently hung around the 'bird's neck. "Wh-What... You ended up cursed too!?!" His friend was a giant bird. A giant bird, what else could he be.

The face of his old friend looked down, stern eyes narrowed into a look of confusion. "....Cursed? What are you talking about, I've been this way since I ascended into the afterlife. All Egyptian spirits end up this way, much like your 'ghosts'... I am not in any way cursed." The explanation was in vain however, when Atem had said 'ghosts'.

".... AAAHHHH!!!! G-Ghosts!?!? I'm being carried away to the after life by a ghost!?!" So then he had died already!? Crap! Crapcrapcrapcrapcrap! He didn't even see the bottom, what the heck!

Atem paled, almost dropping the dog. "W-What!? What are you going on about, you're still alive! Besides, if you've been cursed, then I doubt that it would do more than the transformation that already occurred on yourself!" What HAD happened there anyways...

Joey still bore an expression of fear however, for friend or not, a ghost was a ghost. "N-Nyeehhhhhh..... G-Ghosts...."

"Hah...." They were approaching the ground, and Atem dropped his friend on the sands below before alighting across from him on a pillar. "Joey.... You have nothing to fear from me, I only mean to help..."

Said friend blinked, shaking his head. "....I got that but... Man, if you'd at least looked human!"

"You are one to talk Joey..."

Joey scowled, fists tightening. "Hey! I'd rather not be reminded of that! ...How did you get here anyways, shouldn't you be in heaven or somethin'?"

Atem's feathers ruffled, the Ba turning his head away with a slight scowl. "I don't know why I am here Joey... All I remember is seeing two strange figures approach me and then suddenly I found myself flying through a storm of Arabic letters." He turned his head back, continuing. "Listen... I cannot stay here long-"

"Eeeeehh?!? Whaddya mean? You just said you don't know how or why you're here and now you say you can't stay!?"

Joey jerked back at the look Atem sent him with those words. G-Geeze, no need to be so harsh... "Your time is limited, is it not? I plan to do all I can to find these 'World Rings' so that you can locate them in time... But at the moment, you need to look as well. The genie, Shahra is not your enemy Joey... Trust in her, and she will guide you through the book faster than you can imagine." He spread his wings, the feathers causing them to span a good 20 feet before Joey, who currently looked at the wings with awe. "I will see you again, Joey. But until then, stay safe my friend!"

With that, Joey watched as he flew off, before looking down at the ring and back above where he had left Shahra. "Well... I suppose... I do wish I knew where to head off next.."

As the spirit of the ring appeared beside him, he caught a now familiar caring smile across her face, a look of understanding. "I couldn't have wished for more, Joey..." And with that, the pair ran off at top speed, heading towards the palace as fast as they possibly could lest time run out for them.

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AN: 'Ba' Atem was inspired by the wonderful picture by Hibbary of Deviant Art! It's in her scraps, go look at it, it's pretty. 3 (Plus imagining Atem as a giant bird added lulz. :D)


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